Dear friends,

It is a unique task to assume the editorship of a well-established journal. BigCityLit’s diverse community of readers, supporters, contributors, and friends have been so gracious in welcoming us as the new editors, and we are very grateful. We hope to serve you well.

BigCityLit—the rivers of it, abridged. While compiling our first issue, we have contemplated this tagline and its meanings, and it feels as though a new meaning is being born. Twenty years after Nick Johnson and Maureen Holm started this journal, we are building yet another bridge into the future. At this juncture, we continue the rich tradition of BigCityLit while reaching out to new readers, new contributors, and new friends. And so, we forge ahead, ever in the spirit of Nick and Maureen, and everyone who has lent a hand in bringing BigCityLit to the present day.

And what a present day we find ourselves in. Across the world, normal life has been disrupted in unprecedented ways. Biologically, politically, culturally, philosophically—it is foolish, perhaps, to try delineating all the various contexts. There is no clear theme to link humanity’s current traumas.

As such, there is no theme to this issue. Many of the submissions we received are informed by the various events that have been shocking, and continue to shock, the world. It is crucial to be aware of, and alive to, all the changes that are happening right now. At the same time, though, an overload of reality can be exhausting. One need only turn on the news and take it all in, until you just can’t take it anymore.

So, in curating this issue, we give equal voice to gravity and levity. Some of this writing is inspired by the complex traumas which are changing the world right now. However, we also leave space to enjoy our all-too-human foibles, laugh, and, even if momentarily, escape.

Some read to remember, some read to forget. We hope our first issue contains something that speaks to you, whatever your intentions for reading are. We thank you for your readership and interest in BigCityLit.

This issue is dedicated to the memory of Nick Johnson and Maureen Holm. May their memory be our rudder as we navigate the unknown future.

All our best,

Alyssa Yankwitt & Christopher Cappelluti, Co-Editors